March 2016 Istanbul bombing

On 19 March 2016, a suicide bombing took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district in front of the district governor's office. The attack occurred at 10:55 (EET) at the intersection of Balo Street with İstiklal Avenue,[3] a central shopping street.[4] The attack caused at least five deaths,[5] including that of the perpetrator. Thirty-six people were injured, including seven whose injuries were severe.[3][4] Among those injured were twelve foreign tourists.[4] Among those killed, two were of dual Israel-US nationality.[6] On 22 March, the Turkish interior minister said that the bomber had links with ISIL.[7]

For the January bombing, see January 2016 Istanbul bombing.
March 2016 Istanbul bombing
Demirören AVM on İstiklal Avenue,
near which the bombing took place.
Location İstiklal Avenue, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates41°2′6″N 28°58′52″E
Date19 March 2016
~10:55 a.m. (UTC+2)
TargetCivilians
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths5 (including the perpetrator)
Injured36
PerpetratorsMehmet Öztürk[1][2]
Suicide attacks in
Turkey
Aftermath of the Suruç bombing in 2015
Groups responsible
Provinces affected
Attacks

Background

The bombing was the fourth suicide bombing in Turkey in 2016,[8] and occurred six days after a bombing in Ankara that left 37 people dead. The United States embassy in Ankara had issued a terrorism warning to its citizens the day before the bombing for Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Adana. The German embassy had also issued a security warning to its citizens three days before the bombing. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had called the warnings "normal".[9] Germany had also closed its consulate on the avenue on Thursday and Friday as a security measure.[10]

According to BBC, residents of Istanbul had already been vigilant before the attack due to the recent explosion in Ankara and were wary of going out.[10] Following the bombing, according to Cumhuriyet, the Turkish government received heavy criticism on social media for defects in its security.[9]

Attack

The bombing took place on İstiklal Avenue, a shopping area popular with tourists and considered the busiest avenue in Turkey.[4][11] However, the bombing took place at a time when the avenue was relatively quiet.[5] The site of detonation was a few hundred metres away from a place where police buses are usually parked.[8] According to an eyewitness, the bomber detonated the bomb whilst passing by a group of tourists.[3] Hundreds of people reportedly ran away from the site of attack in panic after the explosion.[12] Nails and small pieces of metal were reportedly scattered in the area due to the attack.[13] Following the bombing, the avenue was closed off to the public.[11] According to a CNN Türk reporter on the scene, the suicide attacker was on his way to the actual target when the bomb went off in front of a restaurant.[14] Another account from a Turkish official (cited by Reuters) states the bomber was "deterred" from his or her actual target by the police and set off the bomb "out of fear". Initial findings pointed to Kurdish perpetrators.[15]

Victims

According to Hürriyet, two of the victims killed were American Israeli and one of the victim killed was Israeli and one was Iranian.[3] One of the victims that died in the explosion was a child. Two of the tourists injured were also children.[13]

Victims by nationality[16]
NationalityDeathsWoundedTotalReferences
 Israel /  USA202[17]
 Israel167[3][16][17]
 Iran112[3][16]
 Turkey02424[16]
 Ireland021[16]
 Germany011[16]
 Iceland011[18]
 United Arab Emirates011[16]
Total43640

    Israeli authorities identified the three Israeli victims as Yonatan Suher (40 years old) from Tel Aviv, Simcha Dimri (60) from Dimona, and Avraham Goldman (69) from Ramat Hasharon.[17]

    The Iranian fatalities were identified as Ali Razm khah (Dead) & Zhila Shariat, Azam Razmkhah and A 1-year-old, Diana Razmkhah, were injured.[19][20]

    The Başaran family from Adana was among those injured in the blast. The family of four had come to Istanbul as tourists and were shopping and sightseeing in the Istiklal Avenue when the blast occurred. 2.5-year-old Asya Başaran was hit by a metal fragment in the head, whilst her mother, Çilem Başaran, was hit in the shoulder and the groin. They were both life-threateningly injured.[21]

    Perpetrator

    While the authorities were quick to blame the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) given the Ankara bombing in February,[15] only upon further investigation in the afternoon, the Turkish authorities changed their initial assessment, now instead holding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) accountable.[22] According to Milliyet, Turkish authorities never ruled out ISIL as suspects early on. According to the newspaper, the fact that the attack occurred near a group of tourists indeed suggested an ISIL involvement.[23] PKK umbrella organization KCK said it opposed targeting civilians and condemned attacks on them.[24]

    The next day, Turkish authorities announced that Mehmet Öztürk was reliably identified by DNA tests to be the suicide bomber of the Istanbul attack. Born 1992 in Gaziantep Province and thought to be affiliated with ISIL,[1][2] he was one of two Turkish suspects the authorities were investigating. The day before, Sabah had named Özturk and 33-year-old ISIL militant Savaş Yıldız from Adana,[25][26] who is also thought to be involved in the October 2015 Ankara bombings killing more than 100 civilians. In the night, authorities arrested Yıldız' parents,[22][27] but they were released later. Öztürk had reportedly left his house in Gaziantep in 2013, and he was linked to ISIL by authorities after he was reported missing. He had reportedly visited his family one month before the attack. On 18 March, he bought a bus ticket to Istanbul from Adıyaman and arrived in Istanbul on the day of the attack in a bus he took from Adıyaman.[28]

    See also

    References
    1. "Istanbul Bomber Identified as Militant With Links to IS". New York Times. AP. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    2. "Istanbul bomber identified". Anadolu Agency. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    3. "SON DAKİKA: İstanbul İstiklal Caddesi'nde patlama meydana geldi". Hürriyet. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    4. "İstiklal Caddesi'nde canlı bomba saldırısı; 5 kişi öldü, 3'ü ağır 36 yaralı var!". T24. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    5. "Istanbul explosion: At least five dead as tourist shopping area Istiklal Street hit by suicide bombing in Turkey". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    6. "Israeli authorities confirm two fatalities from Istanbul bombing were dual US-Israeli citizens". The Jerusalem Post. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    7. "CRIME - Police identifies Istanbul bomber as ISIL member". Retrieved 2016-03-21.
    8. "Five killed, 36 wounded in suicide bombing in central Istanbul". Reuters. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    9. "Herkes patlama olacağını biliyordu, önlenemedi". Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    10. "Istanbul shopping area hit by suicide bomber". BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    11. "İstiklal Caddesi'nde canlı bomba saldırısı: 5 ölü, 7'si ağır 36 yaralı". Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    12. "Istanbul bombing: At least five killed in Turkish city". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    13. "Taksim'de canlı bomba saldırısı!". Posta. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    14. "LOCAL – Five killed, at least 20 injured in suicide attack in central Istanbul". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    15. "Initial findings show Kurdish militants behind Istanbul attack – Turkish official". Reuters. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    16. "Attack on Istiklal Avenue, 5 dead, 36 wounded". Sendika10. 19 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016.
    17. "Avraham Goldman, Yonatan Suher and Simcha Dimri named as Israeli victims killed in Istanbul blast". Jerusalem Post. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    18. http://sendika44.org/2016/03/istiklal-caddesinde-bombali-saldiri-en-az-5-olu-7si-agir-36-yarali/
    19. "Iranians names of dead and wounded in Istanbul explosion" (in Persian). asriran.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    20. "Iranians names of dead and wounded in Istanbul explosion" (in Persian). entekhab.ir. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    21. "Dualar minik Asya için". Milliyet. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
    22. "Alleged Turkish terrorist suspected of previous attacks, Syrian connection". Yedioth Ahronoth. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    23. "İstiklal Caddesi'nde canlı bomba saldırısı!". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    24. "Suicide bomber kills four, wounds 36 in Istanbul shopping district". Retrieved 19 March 2016. The Kurdish-rooted opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) condemned the bombing. The PKK's umbrella group said it opposed targeting civilians and condemned attacks on them.
    25. "'Canlı bomba' şüphelileri için DNA örneği alındı". Sabah (in Turkish). 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    26. "İddia doğruysa, İstiklal'deki canlı bombanın yeşil kartı bile var!". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
    27. "Suspected Istanbul bomber – A said ISIS terrorist known to Turkish authorities". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
    28. "Canlı bomba Adıyaman'dan İstanbula patlama günü gelmiş". BirGün. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
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